Taiwan-China cooperation on East China Sea

According to a survey, most people from Taiwan and China want both countries to cooperate on resolving territorial disputes in the East China Sea.

The survey, jointly conducted by Taipei-based China Times and China’s Global Times, asked around 1,500 respondents for their sentiments on the disputes over the Senkaku Islands, or Diaoyu in Chinese. 83.5% in China favored cooperation with Taiwan, while 8.8% opposed it. 51.1% supported cooperation in Taiwan, with 27.5% against. In China, 90.8% support military moves, with a lower percentage in Taiwan of 41%. 52.1% of Chinese believed that the dispute could lead to military conflicts, while 40.0% of Taiwanese had the same outlook.

Taiwan, China, and Japan have rival claims on the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. It has been a flashpoint in Taiwan-China relations since their split in the 1949 civil war. Japan’s sovereignty claims on the islands also escalated tensions in the region.